I think this one was nominated for a Grammy! But it's one of those noisy modern compositions that is work to listen to. There are some very Ligeti like moments, but some of it is also quite interesting, To the Evening Star for example, which sounds like it could have been lifted wholesale from Benjamin Britten's War Requiem. The pieces share a commonality of instrumental and vocal style, although in the Britten, this would have been the tenor part...

Taken as a piece, this is what Laurie Anderson would call "difficult listening." It seems to be composed of equal measures of chaos, and sincerity. The relative softness of To the Evening Star is almost interrupted by the urgent trombones and drums of the Dies irae. When the voices begin, it is a vocal fanfare which quickly degenerates into cacaphonous exuberance, as if the world has ended by falling down a flight of stairs.

It is always hard to recommend a composition of this kind. No matter how well conceived it is, no matter how well sung, most people will dismiss it as noise in moments. Are they right to do so? This music requires patience, and in this case, the patience is rewarded by a moving, if noisy, experience.

Rating: NNNN